NABIS Bridge

NABIS BRIDGE

A Lifespan Navigation Platform for Brain Injury Across North America

Background & Gap

Brain injury spans a broad spectrum, from mild to severe, and affects individuals across all ages. While many
people recover fully, others experience prolonged or ongoing challenges. Across this spectrum, individuals living with brain injury, their caregivers, and the professionals who support them frequently encounter fragmented systems of care and limited visibility of available supports.

In the period immediately following injury, individuals and families often face uncertainty about how to access
appropriate care, what resources are available, and which sources of information are kept up to date and
reliable. This lack of clarity can delay care and increase stress at a critical time.

As recovery progresses, needs shift across stages including acute care, rehabilitation, and reintegration into
school, work, and community life. At each stage, individuals must navigate a complex and often disconnected
landscape of services and supports. Clinicians managing a broad spectrum of conditions cannot reasonably
maintain up-to-date knowledge of all available resources, creating challenges in identifying high-quality,
evidence-based, and locally relevant supports for patients across different injury severities and stages of
recovery. Current tools are often static (meaning they quickly become outdated), difficult to navigate, behind
paywalls, or not tailored to individual needs.

There is no centralized, user-friendly platform that integrates geographic specificity across the United States and Canada, recovery stage, and the needs of patients, caregivers, and clinicians in a single, trusted system. Addressing this gap requires a technological advanced navigation tool designed to guide users through available resources in a structured and practical way.

Objective & Deliverables

The objective of NABIS BRIDGE is to develop a centralized, user-centered navigation platform on the North
American Brain Injury Society homepage (NABIS) that connects individuals, caregivers, and professionals to
appropriate brain injury resources across North America.

Key Deliverables

• Centralized Resource Database: A curated and standardized database of brain injury organizations and
  resources across Canada and the United States, building on an existing dataset of over 200 verified
  organizations.
• Web-Based Platform Hosted by NABIS: A publicly accessible platform integrated within the NABIS website to serve as a central hub for resource access.
• User-Centered Navigation Tool: A guided interface that tailors outputs based on user type, injury severity,
  time since injury, and geographic location, generating relevant resource pathways.
• Continuum-Based Resource Pathways: Organization of resources aligned with stages of recovery, including acute care, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
• Co-Developed and User-Tested Platform: Iterative refinement through engagement with individuals with lived experience, caregivers, clinicians, and interest holders.
• Integration of Evidence-Based Resources: Inclusion of clinical guidelines, educational materials, and research opportunities to support informed decision-making.

Real World Impact & Importance

NABIS BRIDGE will improve access to brain injury supports by providing a clear, centralized, and trusted navigation tool.

Individuals and families will be able to identify appropriate care and resources more quickly, reducing uncertainty and delays. Clinicians will have a practical tool to support evidence-based referrals tailored to patient needs and local context. Organizations will benefit from increased visibility and stronger connections across the brain injury community.

At a systems level, the platform will reduce fragmentation, improve equity in access, and support more coordinated care across regions and stages of recovery. By aligning user needs, available resources, and evidence-based guidance, NABIS BRIDGE will strengthen how brain injury care is accessed and delivered across North America.